How to choose the best city/region to target on a local business homepage?

[webjay]

Hi everyone! What’s the most reliable way to determine the best geographic focus for a local service business homepage?

Some people seem to always prefer to target the biggest nearby city with the most search volume, others advocate for targeting the city they are located in, and some say to keep the homepage broad and only utilize the service area pages for specific cities.

I know it varies significantly and is very situation-dependent, but I'm curious if anybody has a methodology or some tips for determining the most effective choice each time.

I personally see a lot of scenarios where a business is located in a mid-sized city outside of a large primary city, and there seems to be a lot of conflicting advice on how to approach the homepage.

I’d really appreciate any insight. Thanks!
Jay

 

[keyserholiday]

It doesn't matter if your homepage targets Dallas or Grapevine. What matters is the city you are targeting you are linking to from your GBP

 

[webjay]

It doesn't matter if your homepage targets Dallas or Grapevine. What matters is the city you are targeting you are linking to from your GBP

Thank you for your answer, and apologies for the late response.

However, my question wasn't about any specific location or business. I get what you're saying, but I have to disagree with the idea that it doesn't matter what you target on your home page. There is definitely a user experience aspect to this as well, which in some cases could be huge.

Like I stated in my example, I often encounter lots of businesses in small to mid-sized cities outside of a major city, or even a smaller city, among multiple other similarly sized cities. I see conflicting advice on which approach to take, and I was curious if people have a formula or set of guidelines to help make this decision easier. Because in my opinion, it's a balance between SEO and UX here.

 

[webjay]

Choose the location that the business services. Then flow this across into the GBP, local directories, local forums and SM pages. Then pay for posters, wrap your vehicle, be seen in town wearing branded clothes, sponsor local events.....

I appreciate your response, but I think it's missing my point. Businesses often have a service area, and some cities are much larger/more important than the city in which they are located, so it's not always a straightforward answer.

 

[fisicx]

Hi everyone! What’s the most reliable way to determine the best geographic focus for a local service business homepage?

Choose the location that the business services. Then flow this across into the GBP, local directories, local forums and SM pages. Then pay for posters, wrap your vehicle, be seen in town wearing branded clothes, sponsor local events.....

 

[keyserholiday]

Thank you for your answer, and apologies for the late response.

However, my question wasn't about any specific location or business. I get what you're saying, but I have to disagree with the idea that it doesn't matter what you target on your home page. There is definitely a user experience aspect to this as well, which in some cases could be huge.

Like I stated in my example, I often encounter lots of businesses in small to mid-sized cities outside of a major city, or even a smaller city, among multiple other similarly sized cities. I see conflicting advice on which approach to take, and I was curious if people have a formula or set of guidelines to help make this decision easier. Because in my opinion, it's a balance between SEO and UX here.

You can disagree with me all you like, that's fine. I have worked with national franchises. I worked for The Joint Chiropractic from June 2016 til December 2019. Each location has its own page, and all citations for each location are linked to that URL. The homepage content didn't matter.